There is a fascinating study just waiting to be written on the topic of Bosnia’s
political jokes, evolved over the centuries to express opinions of governments
that didn’t much care for freedom of speech. One such joke tells of a man who,
after the Bosnian War, emigrated to the West somewhere. Visiting his relatives
in Bosnia after a while, asked how things were in his new homeland, the man
replied: "They are about 20 years behind us." The relatives were perplexed;
shouldn’t that be ahead, not behind? No, the man replied, "Things there
are still okay."

Though it is impossible to pinpoint its origin, the joke was first heard in
the fall of 2008, as the first wave of the financial crisis hit. It was the
fifth year of the Iraq occupation, and the sixth since Emperor Bush II proclaimed
a grand strategy to Balkanize
the world. As is usually the case with government designs, that didn’t quite
work out as planned.

The Forgotten War

There has been much talk in the American and British media about the 10th anniversary
of the illegal
invasion of Iraq. Few, if any, have noted that it wasn’t the first illegal war
of aggression waged by the Empire; that dubious honor goes to the 1999 attack
on Yugoslavia. Nor is the media likely to dwell on the second anniversary
of "saving"
Libya from itself, not after working so hard to bury last year’s Benghazi
fiasco.

Zero mention was made of the worst
pogrom against the surviving ethnic Serbs in Kosovo, nine years ago. What
one UN official compared to Kristallnacht, and an American admiral described
as ethnic cleansing has been sent to the Memory Hole, because the pogrom’s perpetrators
were never punished. Instead, they were rewarded with "independence."

Another reason the Balkans is being overlooked in what passes for Empire’s
soul-searching is that, unlike Iraq, interventions there are still considered
a "success". Croatia was ethnically
cleansed of Serbs and is about
to join the EU. Bosnia-Herzegovina has not relapsed into open warfare, though
the Empire itself keeps trying to unravel
the tenuous peace there. And Serbia seems to be at the cusp of validating
the 1999 aggression, by recognizing "Kosovo" as an independent state.

Unconquered

Currently, both the government and the opposition in Belgrade are under Imperial
control– and the one parliamentary party that isn’t (anymore) has no stomach
for a fight. Burned by a "revolution"
that brought them servitude, the Serbs seem unwilling to revolt again.

Another factor in that might be the fate of Zoran
Djindjic, the man who led the Empire-backed coup in 2000. There are indications
that, by early 2003, he had become disillusioned with being a puppet. On March
13 that year, he was gunned down under mysterious circumstances. If his former
masters were behind Djindjic’s death, it was a message that none could hope
to exit the Faustian bargain. Djindjic was certainly forced to serve the Empire
even in death, as propaganda made him into a martyr for the quisling cult currently
breaking
Serbia.

Currently, that quisling leadership is "negotiating"
with the EU about the ways for Serbia to recognize Kosovo in fact, without doing
so explicitly. Yet Brussels, Berlin, Washington and the Albanian regime in Pristina
are unwilling to accept anything less than unconditional surrender.

Slobodan Milosevic, the man overthrown by Djindjic, famously refused to surrender
and kept fighting even at his show trial. He died
mysteriously in Imperial custody on March 11, 2006 – captive, but not conquered,
just like Serbia right now. Its people’s tolerance for abuse may be high, but
it isn’t infinite. Once pushed beyond what they are willing to tolerate, the
Serbs have historically made it very
unpleasant for the people responsible. Will they do so again? Can they?

The Empire is betting they cannot.

The Confiscation Caper

Last weekend, the EU tried to strong-arm
Cyprus into confiscating a portion of private deposits in the island’s banks,
as a condition for giving Nicosia a "bailout." This was presented
as a one-time "tax" on savings, or through euphemisms such as "haircut"
– but the depositors rightly saw it for what it was: outright theft. Coincidentally,
or maybe not, Russia does a great deal of its international banking via Cyprus.
After a polite
but steely warning from Vladimir Putin, the Cypriot government decided it
feared Moscow more than Brussels (or Berlin), and rejected the EU demands. Brussels
isn’t giving up, though, and the drama is still
developing.

Setting aside the possibility that the pressure on Cyprus could ultimately
be directed at Russia – which would have serious implications for the relations
between Moscow and Berlin – the proposal shows just how desperate the bankster
class is, seeking to pillage the general public in order to make up the losses
from speculative blunders. Whatever happens to the proposed "tax,"
now that it has been introduced as a possibility odds are it might reappear
elsewhere, and soon.

A similar scenario unfolded in what used to be Yugoslavia. Back in the 1960s,
the socialist regime allowed its citizens to open foreign currency savings accounts.
There were many Yugoslavs working abroad, either on short-term contracts or
semi-permanently, and the accounts were a way to tap into their remittance stream.

At the time, Yugoslavia also enjoyed plenty of easy credit from the west. In
the 1980s, however, when the bills came due, the IMF demanded austerity measures.
The citizenry’s domestic savings were wiped out by galloping inflation, while
the government restricted access to foreign savings, declaring them redeemable
in Yugoslav currency only, at the official – and woefully inadequate – exchange
rate. The resulting collapse of confidence in the system created fertile ground
for demagoguery that led to the Yugoslavia’s violent break-up. During the scramble
for secession, many of these accounts were outright
confiscated by the separatist governments. The surviving depositors are
still litigating for redress.

So, as the joke has it, the West really is behind the times.

Antiquity’s Forgotten Lesson

The erroneous beliefs that Balkans interventions were a success and that Serbia
is conquered help disguise the actual weakness of the Empire and its EU satellite.
Yet as Brendan O’Neill
pointed out after the death of Hugo Chavez, there was a time Washington
could overthrow regimes in Latin America pretty much at will. Likewise, the
Empire is frustrated
by the current President of the Bosnian Serb Republic; but where its viceroys
once used to remove elected officials at a whim, today they do not dare. Instead,
they seem
to be trying for a "color revolution".

Empire’s "strategy" for victory in Serbia really depends on Belgrade’s
willingness to submit. Ironically, this is the same mistake the Bosnian Serb
leadership made during the Bosnian War. By simply refusing to capitulate, Belgrade
cannot lose. These days, that’sas good as winning.

The Empire, on the other hand, cannot win. All else aside, its publicized goal
of world domination is simply out of reach. All the guns in the world are useless
if the other side cannot be compelled to submit. Force can only settle the matters
of power, not right. Like Athens of antiquity, the Atlantic Empire crushed the
Melians because it
could, and squandered its strength on a misguided Syracuse
expedition. Yet not only did Athens lose the war to Sparta, its vaunted
democracy was lost as well.

There is still time for Empire to become America once again. There are still
things it could do to avoid the grim fate predicted in that Bosnian joke. Unfortunately,
the joke seems more likely to actually come true.

201231186718 Responseshttp%3A%2F%2Foriginal.antiwar.com%2Fmalic%2F2013%2F03%2F21%2Fillusion-of-triumph%2FIllusion+of+Triumph2013-03-22+06%3A00%3A11Nebojsa+Malichttp%3A%2F%2Foriginal.antiwar.com%2F%3Fp%3D2012311867 to “Illusion of Triumph”

A patriotic nationalist like Milosevic was an impediment to the Empire/NWO's plans for global domination just like Saddam and Khaddafi were. Assad and Ahmadinejad are in their sights next. And June 28, 2014 will be the 100th anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, the spark that ignited the First World War.

Somewhere half way into his power tenure, Djindjich made an off the cuff remark dismissive of Javier Solana, his agenda in Yugoslavia, and his plans for the future (of Kosovo). The remark in itself must have been an irritant to Solana. More importantly, the EU and NATO must have realised that their chosen man has become a wayward child.
I remain convinced of the Western services being the ones who killed Djindjic.
There is a film with James Mason in the leading role who, as a high ranking airforce officer, sends a young, dashing, flying ace to perform stunts at the celebration. The plain the pilot is to fly is known to be notoriously dangerous an unsafe. The general knows it and uses the occasion to dispose of the popular, but independent pilot.
As the festivities start the plane takes off, and during the acrobatic loop crashes and kills the pilot.
James Mason is seen giving the pilot's file to the subordinate, with a recommendation that the killed pilot will be awarded the Blue Cross, referring to the dead man as a hero. Having disposed of an inconvenient man, he eulogises him, for personal gain.
Djindjich's rise to power, sponsorship, performance in the office, death, and the subsequent personality cult are a microcosm of the West's enterprise of dismantling Yugoslavia. Evidently Djindjich is worth to the Empire even more dead than he was while alive.

What strikes me is the half-heartedness of this. The author would obviously love to find something solid with which to attack the EU but cannot think of anything. 2012 was the year in which the euro survived and the year in which the EU won the Nobel peace prize for preventing a third world war in Europe. But as became clear in the last article, the author's target is not the American Empire but the EU. However, only supporters of the Empire and its hegemonic pretensions, could have any problem with the EU, which gives its Member States the power to say "no" or "maybe" to the Empire when that is in their interest.This half-heartedness thus is probably part of the visible overall decline is US neocon/Israel Lobby influence which other authors have referred to.

I wondered whether he would choose Cyprus or Pope Francis. So it's Cyprus. What nobody is saying too loudly is why Russia has an interest in what happens in Cyprus. In fact, much of the money lodged in Cyprus banks is owned by Russian oligarchs and few believe that all of that money was legally acquired. Only a few weeks ago, French actor Gerard Depardieu went to live in Russia because of its favourable tax regime. If Russia is such a tax haven, why are Russians putting their money in Cyprus? In practice, I would guess that EU leaders decided to provoke the entirely predictable reaction in Cyprus so as to force the oligarchs to contribute to the bailout: either lose their money by having the banks collapse or cough up a bit of their money to prop up those banks. I hardly think anyone is going to cry over Russian oligarchs having to "pay to play" in Cyprus but, of course, for this author, any pretext will do to attack the EU. By the way, I'd love to know what American interest he thinks is damaged by the EU's existence.

I disagree and consider Nebojsa Malic's article to be worthy of much consideration. I only wish I were able to say the same for Pat Buchanan's piece also published on this site today, in which he celebrates the US victory in the Cold War and the doctrine of George Kennan which delivered it. This was the policy that saw the post war recruitment of top Nazis by the US, including those skilled in torture and intelligence gathering in order to crush independent nationalism in Europe.
The Nobel Peace Prize has about as much credibility as the Eurovision Song Contest nowadays, and so the EU is an entirely suitable recipient for this degraded gong. The EU remains very supportive of Israel to the point of awarding it 'favoured trading partner' status, and turns a blind eye to all of its crimes against the Palestinians.
Ironically, the robbery of the Cypriot people that the EU was planning was thwarted by the cut-throats and criminals who now run Russia, and who obviously have a lot of their own money stashed away in Cypriot banks.
Meanwhile Nebojsa Malic, keep your eyes open for when the police in the US start patrolling in three's: one to do the writing, one to do the reading, and one to keep an eye on the two intellectuals.

I thought the whole "let's rob the depositors of Cyprus" (as well as the "let's force Serbia to surrender illegally seized territory", which I've spent a decade explaining) were enough. Then again, for a troll whose sole job is to post "EU is great, Malic is a Zionist American Imperialist", no logic seems to help.

Oh, so it's OK to steal, so long as it's from "Russian oligarchs"? Isn't that precisely what the EU (and the Empire) claim Putin is doing in Russia, and therefore being "authoritarian"? But I forget, everything is fine if the Immaculate Union does it, and despicably evil if done by the Designated Enemy (Serbs, Russians, etc.). You are the living illustration for my argument that supporters of the EU and the Empire live in a virtual reality.

While oligarchs no doubt acquired some, if not most of their fortunes through suspicious deals during Yeltsin's vodka fueled regime, it is still theft if that is the motivation for the EU's demands.

Also, if the EU is so willing to throw the citizens of Cyprus who's life savings are now in limbo simply to strike at Russian oligarchs, who I'm sure did not put all their eggs in one basket, then it simply insane.

To Mr. Malic…I've been an admiring reader for years now…and want to thank you for your dedicated effort..it has immensely helped in understanding the "connection of dots" of the Empire through the decades. Altough I am Filipino living in the USA — I instantly recognized the "patterns of behavior" that you have been detailing and putting in context regarding the Empire's behavior – not just for decades , but generations.

IF the EU and EMPIRE are such great places for making and keeping money (which seems to be all what they are about) – then why do they have "special" places for hiding money, such as in the CENTER of it in switzerland, Monaco, Cayman Islands? better yet — if they are SO accountable and not Corrupt "unlike those russians and slavs and everyone else in the world outside the west and its *allies*" — why don't they just come with a full public disclosure where the Trillions and hundreds more of derivatives lost from their schemes and wars went?

let's really just "follow the money" as the saying goes — but then….it WILL lead to the Root — the Empire and its EU Foot-soldiers and courtiers, wouldn't it?

What a laugh……..["of course, for this author, any pretext will do to attack the EU. By the way, I'd love to know what American interest he thinks is damaged by the EU's existence."]…………………

Damaged?… Did you say damaged…??? Maybe you ought turn the mirror around and have a look at the the ones being damaged….. Putting the EU to werk as The empire's foot soldier clean-up crew sure doesn't damage the empire (America)…… Just as the French getting sucked into the Mali mess doesn't either… Those that the empire doesn't kill it makes stronger and getting the EU to stick it's neck out into Libya and Mali and will only lead to victory on television. Finding the EU turned into empire's hapless lap dog ALA Tony Blare is nothing that history, even children will view as any mean accomplishment. NO!! Being the clean up crew for the parade is not the fountain of glory which MichaelKenny purports it to be. Not today, tomorrow or yesterday. Seeing the EU edging toward Syria also reeks of lapdogmanship… to the Neocon kill all the Muslims Madness. A nice paste medal for the fallen to read "He died for Greater Israel"

How much more would Russia have to pay to just buy Cyprus out right . It would make a ideal vacationing Paradise for Russian's suffering threw their cold winters . If Europe is to broke to help Cyprus , Putin alone could Bailout Cyprus . But it is pure stupidity to give the same people your money to allow them to do the samethings that brought on this Crisses . Cyprus needs hope and changes that can bring back stability . Russia knows all about this as their economy collaped in 1990 .

It seems to me if we are dumb enough to elect people that bring our country into monumental debt . we will have to pay monumental taxes . If some of us can't pay the taxes , we have to forfit our property to pay the debt .

When we look at the US history as a participant in "provoked or unprovoked wars" – I yet have to see any evidence whereby those Vietnamese fishermen (or Navy) who "attacked" the US Navy destroyer USS Maddox, prompted the US to join the French during the early 1960s. I am not forgetting the invasions of Granada and Panama in Central America which followed the Viet-nam fiasco.

Nebojsa Malic left his home in Bosnia after the Dayton Accords and currently resides in the United States. During the Bosnian War he had exposure to diplomatic and media affairs in Sarajevo. As a historian who specializes in international relations and the Balkans, Malic has written numerous essays on the Kosovo War, Bosnia, and Serbian politics. His exclusive column for Antiwar.com debuted in November 2000.